Dr. Metablog is the nom de blague of Vivian de St. Vrain, the pen name of a resident of the mountain west who writes about language, books, politics, or whatever else comes to mind. Under the name Otto Onions (Oh NIGH uns), Vivian de St. Vrain is the author of "The Big Book of False Etymologies" (Oxford, 1978) and, writing as Amber Feldhammer, is editor of the classic anthology of confessional poetry, "My Underwear" (Virago, 1997).

March 31, 2008

News from Alameda

We’re in Alameda, California, for ten days, visiting the grandchildren and also their parents. The big news here is that the Alameda public schools are in a money crunch. The root cause is Proposition 13, the granddaddy of pernicious tax-limiting amendments (we have one in Colorado, too -- it’s paralyzed us).The immediate precipitant of the Alameda crisis is Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to balance the budget by cutting brazillions of dollars out of the education budget.Public-spirited citizens in the island city have responded by proposing a supplementary “parcel tax”-- most people say property tax – of $120 per "parcel" of real estate to help the school district survive these dark days.To me, the tax supplement is an imperfect but obvious fix.Public schools must be supported, and if the state shirks its responsibility, local effort must ride to the rescue.

There’s the usual testy opposition:too much fat in the budget; teachers are overpaid; school board is incompetent; bad planning.I know enough about public education's lean diet not to be swayed.

What gets my goat is that some of the arguments against the supplement are just plainmean.Here’s an example.A local curmudgeon named Guy Smith has written a guest opinion in the Alameda Journal under the heading: “Make Parents Pay for Child’s Education,” His gist:“It is no longer appropriate to tax childless homes for public education.” And also: people who support such taxes suffer from “collectivist mentalities."

And here I thought that the American constitution had in its preamble a phrase about promoting the “general" and not just the individual welfare. No doubtMr. Smith would stigmatize Madison and Jefferson as early collectivists.

The argument that the childless need not contribute to education is flimsy-- so slight that it’s hard to believe that it’s argued in good faith and is not just a rationale for skinflintism.Does Mr. Smith think that he shouldn’t pay for the fire department or the police department, except on the days that he happens to use them?

Does he think that he doesn’t profit from the educational system because he has no children in school.He can read and write. Did he teach himself?He’s sitting at a computer, designed by someone with an education.His chair and his table and his coffee and the cup out of which he drinks his coffee were designed or planned or imported or constructed or distributed by people who could read and write and figure.Take away the learning of his predecessors and members of hisown age-cohort and Mr. Smith would be out there chasing squirrels with a flint hand-ax. And whining about the cost of the clan-supplied flint.

Comments

From Colorado, Dr. Metablog, alias Vivian de St. Vrain, writer of classic poetry ("My Underwear") comes west to remind us "we're all in this together."

Yes, public education is vital, when the running of schools and the curriculum are treated as such. But sports beyond physical education, portable classrooms instead of planning and so many closings with consolidations indicate vital needs in education were ignored long ago.

We're told how much more other school districts spend per pupil. We are not "other school districts." What is our enrollment and change over time? What are the graduation/attrition/and holdback rates? What is student performance in Alameda, compared to other districts? Why do people who love to teach end up managing buildings, maintenance, construction and operations?

The proposed "supplementary" parcel tax is added to $109 begun in 2002, increased to $189 in 2005 and now projected to go to $309, lasting an additional 5 years. The proposal needs to pass by two-thirds of voters. Don't hold your breath.

Sticking together means hard work. Going to the Gubernator and telling him "Hands Off" school funding. And then we make hard choices about what is financed, partially or fully, by government at local and state levels. Filling schools and/or filling potholes? Schools and/or health care? Schools and/or business development? Hey! There's an idea! The businesses that benefit from Johnny reading, writing and doing at least arithmetic, put out more funds for their future workforce! A PBA in addition to a PTA.

Should only parents with kids in schools pay the "supplementary" bill? Maybe, if we can get them out of gas-guzzling cars, driven 3 blocks each morning and afternoon to drop the little tykes into their porta-potties. We'd all breath easier.

Dr M, let us know when your visit has concluded. We'll be at the border, waving goodbye because we are all in this together and live here.